Harvenheit History: Chapter 1
by Togabito Gaara
Summary: A story of the Harvenheit family and their tragic past, broken down over three chapters. Hopefully, creatively depicted to fill in the gaps of Fiore and Satella's missing past. Spoiler warning!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hi there~ This is another fic I managed to write for last year's Nanowrimo. However, I've done some extensive editing for this story so I hope that the story and details are mostly accurate to a point and the rest is all made up by me. I've always wondered how things came to be for the Harvenheit sisters every since I read the book the first time and so here is my attempt at writing multiple chapters to bring you on an adventure through my mind, lol. So hope you enjoy! Again, any review is well appreciated so thank you so much for taking your time to read my story~****3**

**Spoiler warning: If you have not read the book yet, please refrain from reading this fic.  
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**Disclaimer: Chrno Crusade © Moriyama Daisuke**

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**New York 1924**

A jewel summoner. One would be considered a vexen for holding such powers amongst the common people; the summoning and manipulation of a beast or warrior through the use of a jewel created by her own hands. Then again, there were demons alike that lurked the current world causing deception, lustful seduction and murder. The long red-headed beauty, standing five foot six with an abundance of assets, was the talk of the City- New York- for she was a hunter and to some a savior from these monsters; fighting day to day for one purpose only; to find someone.

The rattling of the tall windows from a chilly September breeze, a slender leg peeked from beneath the warm rose-scented water as she shifted her weight in the tub. A deep sigh passing her lips, Satella tilted her head back to stare up at the rather blank ceiling of her six floor mansion. Till this day she hadn't forgotten. Ten years. Ten long years and the moment she thought she had a lead was gone in a flash. It was back to square one in finding _her_; her dear sister, Florette Harvenheit. Her eyes settled to a solemn daze as she thought further. No, it was to search for the culprit; the hornless demon that had stolen everything from her. Her parents. Her sister. Her home. Everything matched too, or so she thought. The violent outburst, hornless and a demon of all things, yet this one was caring, sweet, adorable and much too _human_ to have done such a thing.

She closed her eyes. Besides, there was little chance that her sister was even alive at this point and yet her heart subconsciously continued to seek for her. Satella sank lower into the water as she accepted that fate yet again. Feeling her fingers begin to shrivel, she slowly rose from the tub and carefully stepped out to retrieve the neatly folded robe beside the sink. A sudden chill running up her spine, she quickly wrapped herself in warmth and headed straight for her room down the long red-carpeted hall decorated with an occasional antique displayed besides a plant.

It was only moments after that that Steiner, her loyal butler of many years, gently knocked on her door and patiently awaited her response.

"Come in, Steiner." Satella called from her well polished Mahogany vanity. Now dressed in her usual reserved light-blue night gown, she was in the middle of combing her damp hair and fussing over the split ends when the elderly butler entered and gave a small bow with a smile. "Miss Satella, I've brewed some fresh tea if you would like to have some. It'll surely warm you."

The calming scent coming from the hall brought a small smile to her face. "Thank you. I'll have some in the living room." Satella softly replied, placing the brush down. A cup of _Kamillentee_, Chamomile herbal tea, poured into her favorite Dresden Demitasse Cup after a long tough day was the perfect closure to the night. The butler kindly waited for her to join him by the door and escorted her to the desired room before excusing himself to head towards the kitchen. Whether it was a word of advice, reassurance through a small gesture or other, she appreciated how Steiner seemed to know exactly what she needed at any given time. Her only family left, he had taken upon himself to continue to care for her even after _that_ day. Surely, he had his own family that missed him dearly, having followed her all the way to America from Germany. But truth be told, she wouldn't have made it this far without his support and love. She owed him greatly.

Entering the lavished living area, Satella took a seat on the Louis Xv sofa décor with silky red fabric near the fireplace. The oak framed mantel brightly lite up from the flames dancing below it, she quietly stared through the screen while Steiner brought over her tea. The somber look on her face only made the butler's bushy gray eyebrows scrunch in worry. This was perhaps not a good day for her, he silently thought to himself as he carefully placed the tray onto the table. Standing beside the sofa, he too glanced towards the fireplace until she finally realized he had returned.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Thank you, Steiner." Satella came out of her deep thoughts as she gracefully picked up the saucer and took a hold of her cup to sip. A satisfied smile replacing her gloominess, she complimented with a light chuckle. "Delicious as always."

Steiner feeling a sense of relief to see her smile again, carefully decided to prod. He knew well it wasn't his place to, but the butler's genuine concern for this master gave him the courage to proceed. "Is something the matter, miss? If you do not mind these old ears of mine, they are here to listen." he offered.

"Steiner…" Her smile slightly wavering, her eyes slowly dropped to the tea in her hand. "I'm just tired. That's all. I didn't mean to worry you." An index finger tracing a short distance back and forth on the golden rim of the teacup, she remained silent for another minute before speaking again. "Ten years." she began. "Can you believe it's been ten years already?" She forced a small chuckle with pain in her eyes as a single tear slid down her cheek. With a hand on her shoulder, he quietly responded with a "Yes, it has, indeed." as he remained beside her to console. Her hands shaking, she managed to place the cup down before spilling it and neatly folded them back in her lap. Her fingers slowly curling into a fist, she was furious inside of just how close it was only to have it slip passed her. A part of her wanted to blame Chrno for everything despite knowing how wrong it was to. It was all their fault. Damn demons doing as they pleased.

The image was as vivid as yesterday. The cold night. The fire. Her sister in _his_ hand, head down and draped like some rag doll. The young Satella of age nine, clueless to why this stranger had done this could only continuously cry and desperately call her name. One arm reached out while on her knees as the other carefully supported her mother's head, she watched him carry her off into the dark night. Never to be seen again. The next thing she knew Steiner was calling to her, having passed out from exhaustion. He gave her the coat on his back and carried her off to safety after jumping into the fire to come rescue her.

Rosette's stupid face was the only thing that truly brought her out of her despair as a small smile crept at the corner of her lip. Satella could see her now, scolding her for even remotely thinking that it was Chrno. They had mentioned that he had been sleeping at a grave sight for fifty years. She could only imagine why he had been there this whole time verses anywhere else. He too had a story of his own, with a dark mysterious past. Never would she have imagined who was truly responsible for her misfortune at the time; plotting away even now on the opposite side of the country as she sat there reminiscing of her lost past.

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**San Francisco, California. 1924.**

Removing his glasses and leaning back in his brown buttoned leather and sturdy mahogany framed desk chair with a turn, Aion heaved a heavy sigh as he finished reading up on the last bit of the article written on the astral line. A hand rubbing his tired face and massaging his own temple on both ends, an eerie chuckle came from the pale-haired sinner as he thought over the material he had just read. The amount of information obtained through the numerous researches done over the years, by these humans nonetheless, was about to pay off. Even with short lives, they persisted on seeking the truth, knowing well that they'll never see the day when its ugly head would be revealed, specifically by his hands. Such pathetic and sad beings. He lowered the hand covering his face and turned his chair to glance up at the overflowing bookshelf. His eyes softened a moment in thought, almost sorrowfully. The thought of _her_ dominating his mind again. _Lilith_. He had to shake it off.

Rarely catching such sight of her master, Fiore slowly walked in with a tray in hand as she softly inquired. "Is something the matter, Master Aion?" He gave a slight tilt of his head towards the maid and a brief smile. "Hm? It's nothing, Fi. Don't be concerned." Aion allowed her to set his coffee before him as a sly eye closely watched her.

Fiore; a maid, a limiter to Joshua Christopher and, more significantly, a jewel summoner. The woman was reborn only to dance to his tune as he pulled the strings from above; his doll to use at his own disposal and a worthy addition to his 'team'. She was to never feel and simply do, but unfortunately innate characteristics were hard to erase. Though not spoken, the message she often sent were as clear as glass. After all, she was still quite easy to 'read' especially for him.

The dismissing response to her inquiry wasn't false by any means, however. There truly wasn't anything wrong with the situation at hand. The apostles were smoothly being acquired one by one and the other sinners were loyally taking on their given roles. All was going according to plan. "Thanks." Aion took the mug and brought it closer to his lips to blow. Thinking deeper, none of this was ever possible without Fiore. She was an essential performer to his act to go beyond.

Viede's mention of their past senior was the start of it all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Hi there~ Ahhhh, frankly, this one made me a little nervous lol;; I feel like if I keep editing it, it'll never be seen by the public in this lifetime and so I hope it's something that's met your expectations even a little bit! So onto chapter 2 of my Harvenheit History~! I hope you enjoy! Again, any review is well appreciated so thank you so much for taking your time to read my story~****3**

**Spoiler warning: If you have not read the book yet, please refrain from reading this fic.  
**

**Disclaimer: Chrno Crusade © Moriyama Daisuke**

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**San Francisco, California. 1914. August.**

The view of the blood-soaked beaches of San Fran even made the breathtaking sunset seem less appealing. The four sinners stood in a staggered line, two of which were half exhausted from their brief battle with the pursuers from their motherland, Pandemonium. Aion's white and gray demon form partially painted red, his comrades silently watched him clench a fist around a lifeless limb in fury as he held his own head by the horn with his other. Reverting back to his reserved form, the leader of the sinners glanced back at everyone as he sternly spoke. "This won't do. They'll keep tracking us down at this rate." He placed a foot onto the body and pressed in as a deep grunt escapes it. Viede slowly made his way beside their Boss to discuss matters further. "It must be the horns as we suspected. Its connection to Pandemonium is far greater than we had imagined it to be."

"Yeah, I could almost feel the geas running its course. It's like the umbilical to a mother's womb. Unless we cut our ties, this will never end." Aion concurred. "Shader's technology will work but we'll need contractors to keep us alive."

"I recall once overhearing one of the superiors mention of a demon who had also gone missing from the society. A demon with the beauty to seduce any man and a holder of special jewels. Perhaps if we-" Viede attempted to continue on when their leader's eyes grew wide as well as his grin. The jewel summoner he had also heard of during their time below. Aion's gradual maniacal laughter threw Viede off his train of thought as he stared at his Boss in bewilderment.

"Tch, what's so damn funny!" Genai jumped in overriding the laughter with an aggravated outburst of his own as Rizel backhands him on his arm to silence him.

"That's it… That's the answer." Aion finally spoke as his laughter settled to a satisfied sigh. "We'll finally be able to cut our ties with our 'mother' and our chances of winning have more than doubled."

"Doubled?" Viede questioned in disbelief. "Our chances of winning against Pandemonium have been less than fifty percent this whole time, how is this possible?"

Aion lifted his arm, hauling the body up a bit. "You know where she's located, don't you? Spill it." He questioned the pursuer still beneath his foot but no answer was given except a snicker mocking him. Taking it as a sign that they knew of her location, the sinner stomped down to end his life and threw his body to the side along with the rest in the pile. He started to head back towards their white boarded beach house when he gestured with his hand and strongly commanded. "Find out from the other pursuers of the location of this demon. As soon as we find out, we'll pay her a visit and I guarantee it'll all make sense then."

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**Germany. 1914. Early September.**

Triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria on June 28th, the country had just entered World War I involving multiple nations including the US. It was difficult and complicated to say the least in order to travel across countries at such a time but one that was necessary for the revolution they too were about to start.

The leaves had only begun to change when the sinner set foot on the Harvenheit estate. Observing the mysterious powers right before his eyes by a young girl sitting beneath a tree was more than enough evidence that this was the right place. All their hard work of having to interrogate one demon after another for a month had finally paid off. He softly called to her and their eyes met. This one was promising. After holding a brief conversation with the long dark haired girl, Aion returned to the nearby inn the other sinners were staying to report his finding. He learned quite a bit from what the little girl had openly shared with him.

The Harvenheit family consisted of four members; the mister and misses as well as two daughters: the eldest daughter, Florette and the young Satella. Living the upper-class life as an art dealer and collector, the husband was an intelligent businessman where as the wife was in charge of crafting and selling rare jewels of her own. The daughter spoke of her father going through stressful times with the outbreak of the war and how it's been affecting his business. She spoke of another secret besides her abilities, which she overheard him speaking of one night. The plans of having the whole family leave the country for the brief period to survive the war.

Opening the door, Aion optimistically smiled at his comrades. "Good news. We found it and just in time at that. We'll wait till sunset before heading over." Rizel followed him with new sets of bandages in her hand to the nearby seat; clearly a concerned look to her face. Aion plopped down into the old wooden seat as he allowed her to undo the bandages around his head.

"Did you see her?" Shader asked while fiddling with another invention of hers involving springs and metal plates.

"Not specifically her but her child. I saw with my own eyes what she's capable of and the precise ability we need in order to succeed." Aion somberly explained. The cat girl glanced his way to take a quick look at how the circular plates on either side of his head were looking, nodding towards Rizel that it was all right for her to bandage back up.

"Seems like they're healing well. Let's just hope you're right about this." She replied with a worried frown. Losing one's horns meant death to demons, having lost the only way to channel the astral powers to stay alive. True, she had come up with a way to fight the system for Chrno but even he was capable of staying alive because of Mary Magdalene's life source. It was only a matter of time before Aion would need one as well. The day he ripped out his horns on the whim (or so she saw it to be), was even before finding this said demon. Sometimes the things he would think of and do seemed so far fetched and yet, he was always fully confident in his decision, which only made it harder for her to object to his plan. Not that she didn't trust him or anything, but ever since Chrno left, she noticed Aion becoming more and more distant or rather preoccupied with something. Obsessively chasing it and in haste.

At nightfall, the sinners all approached the well light three story mansion as the dark gloomy sky hovered over them. "You guys stay here while I go negotiate. Be prepared in case I'll need you guys for anything." Aion calmly demanded as he began to walk across the small field with his hands in the pockets of his white customized frock coat before the others even had a chance to object. Wearing a black vest with a matching western black bow tie for the occasion, the leader of the sinners knocked on the door. A well groomed butler answering, they briefly conversed as he asked to see the mistress of the household. Right when the young gentleman was about to go inform her of his request, as good timings concerned, she walked out from the dining room at that instance. _Bingo_.

"Yo..." he began as he could see the pure shock in her eyes. A beauty just as rumors has claimed her to be; jet black hair with a petite face that went rather nicely with her slender body. A delicate hand briefly covering her mouth, the lady of the household gathered herself and sternly stared at him. "Aion. What are you doing here?" A harsh tone heard in her elegant voice.

"Now now, don't be that way. We are _family_ now, after all." Aion lightly snickered as he walked in further, gesturing with both arms raised to his side. "We're the same _kind_, you and I. I came to speak of a promising proposal that you may well be interested in considering.. Mrs. Harvenheit, was it now?" She quickly held her hand up for him to stop talking and glanced toward her butler, who was about to run for the phone. "It's all right, Bernard. I'll take it from here. Please make certain that the girls are ready for bed." The young man quickly complied with a small bow of his head and stepped away with a wary glance towards their unwelcome guest.

"This way." She commanded as she lead him to the living room. Aion followed with a grin and entered the grand room as she closed the door tightly behind her. The flames of the fireplace flickering to the cold draft seeping through the niches in the wall. "What is it that you want?" She flatly asked, desperate to get this conversation over with as soon as possible. He slowly roamed the well decorated living room with the suspected fine arts scattered about. Placing a hand onto the back of the French Louis XV gilt wooded sofa, he calmly began. "You have a lovely home and two beautiful daughters, especially Florette. She looks just like you, you know? Interesting how you've managed to acquire it all." He gave an amused snicker with a light shrug of his shoulders. "Being who you are and seems in secrecy nonetheless."

She shuttered to his knowledge of her daughters and approached him with hands balled into fists. "My husband knows of who I _am_." She shot back agitated. "He was the one who saved me. Now you answer me! What is a demon like yourself doing here! How did you find me!"

Aion raised his brow to that news, genuinely surprised by it. Another one who had ties with the humans. He decided to cut down on the prodding and grew a serious expression of his own. "Settle down. I'm not here to drag you back. Don't clump me with those low class maggots." The sinner mocked with a flick of his wrist. "On the contrary, I'm here to help you remain on Earth. As I said, I have a proposition that you may well be interested in." Aion swiftly took a seat on the sofa, crossing his legs over as he made himself comfortable. Her shoulders relaxed to know he wasn't a pursuer and allowed a relieved sigh to escape her for the moment. However, things still weren't making much sense. She gathered her composure and gracefully joined him on the sofa, sitting up right with her body facing him. "Please continue."

Aion stared at the sparks of the fire as he continued on. "Roughly several years ago, a group of us were able to take down Pandemonium's adjacent terminal core system, even managing to bring her head to Earth. We were able to figure out certain weaknesses that may allow us to destroy her once and for all but our horns are still a problem. They are like the antenna that allows her to stay in control of us and monitor our every move."

The color on the woman's face almost went pale. Take down the whole society? Surely he was mad, she silently thought. Aion glanced her way as his deadly eyes could have almost pierced her heart. "We need your assistance in order to go beyond and to reform the world."

"Just how am I to be of any help?" She sternly questioned him with a nervous chuckle, fiddling with her dress. "You have a talent that could spare us from having to be attached to her womb any longer. Your jewels. I'm well aware of what they are capable of." Aion confidently answered with a smirk, a hand idly raised towards her face to caress. She quickly retracted herself and looked away. "You're mad. If I were to do that then.." She couldn't even finish the sentence.

Aion's violet eyes narrowed to her hesitation. He sighed disappointed to what she had become - a spineless human. "Have you forgotten who you are? A human or two, what does it matter? They wouldn't have much time to live anyhow at least this way they'll hold a purpose." He coldly responded. She gave him an angry glare. "You're asking me to take the precious lives of others nonetheless on our behalf."

"Well, this was unexpected. Frankly, I'm a little disappointed. Are you truly the one who had seduced and deceived the number of men and brought them back to the society in the form of jewels to use as an energy source?" The sinner blatantly revealed her true nature.

She bit her lower lip and dropped her head in guilt. How much she wanted to throw away that past. The door suddenly opening, her eyes instantly widened as she heard the familiar voice behind her.

"Is this true, dear?" A soft yet deeply concerned voice questioned. A painful look in his eyes, a man with red orange locks and with the height of 5'11" stood at the doorway. Seifert Harvenheit slowly entered the room, having heard it all through closed doors. The butler had spoke of his concerns of the mysterious visitor to his master and decided to see for himself who this man may be. He knew of how rather different his wife was from the start. Perhaps not even human, yet he couldn't help but assist her that one dreadful day.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Hi, Yuki here! Long time no see~ So small story, I've had this piece mostly written up months ago but I just couldn't let myself publish it until I did a little more research and editing to it and so unfortunately it sat there... for a while OTL. I've been working on another piece along side this one and I've hit plenty of barriers and many nights of frustration. But with a recent encouragement I've received through a generous review, I ****finally got myself into gear and finished it to the point where I could confidently say "All right, this is decent enough for anyone to read" XDD;; So I hope I'm in the right;;; and I truly hope you enjoy the last chapter! ****I feel very honored that some of you have enjoyed my previous chapters. ****Thank you so much for your support! **

**Again, any review is well appreciated so feel free to leave me a comment and thank you so much for taking your time to read my story~****! **

**Spoiler warning: If you have not read the book yet, please refrain from reading this fic.  
**

**Disclaimer: Chrno Crusade © Moriyama Daisuke**

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**Germany. 1898. October.**

It was on that one chilly October night. Seifert had fled his home after a fight with his father of his future path he wished to pursue. His father, a wealthy lawyer, had dreamt of his son to one day take over the family business and here he was speaking of his love for art and other fantasies that surely wouldn't help one get through life. Seifert kicked a rock out of frustration. He was convinced that his father probably thought his son didn't understand the hardship he had endured to get where he was. But the fact of the matter was it wasn't what he wanted to do. 'The naïve mind is speaking of nonsense again', he would often say, throwing his hand up in defeat, pressuring his wife to speak to their son in order to talk some sense into him. They would argue of what was best for him, leading to an unpleasant sight. He wanted to get away from it all.

Seifert recalled crossing the small stone bridge connecting the riverbanks that day. The river flowed slightly faster than most days and undoubtedly the sound gave it away. However, what made him take notice of it wasn't just the sound of the water but a low moan coming from below. Stopping his footing, he glanced back behind him to see if anyone were there before he heard it again. He looked over the edge when saw an oddly dressed woman laying face down in the dirt by the waters, brutally injured. With little hesitation, he jumped over the ridge and rushed his way down to where she was. "Are you all right, miss!" He called out to her in German as he knelt beside her. Gently helping her roll onto her back, he immediately was taken by her beauty with her long dark hair gracefully framing her petite face. But it was neither the time nor place to be bedazzled by her as he noticed the deep wounds on her sides and head amongst all the bruising. Carefully picking her up into his arms, Seifert placed his pride aside and carried her back to his home despite having just left there. There were no other place that would be able to give her immediate attention as his home and something told him she didn't want to be found easily either.

How taken the woman was when she finally opened her eyes to find herself in a stranger's bed. It was luck and perhaps fate that Seifert entered the room right when she was about to leave; a small surprised run in at the door way. She immediately backed away and fiercely stared him down as she guarded her sides where the bandage was applied; wincing to the pain felt. "You shouldn't move so suddenly." He spoke his concern as he slowly approached her with both hands up to show that he meant no harm. Her rapid breathing and hostile nature gradually settled down as she felt his warm gentle hand on her shoulder and that relieved smile on his face. She couldn't understand a word, of course, but somehow just that one single touch was enough to convey the message.

As days passed, she slowly allowed him to tend to her even though she really didn't need it being a demon. She would nod a 'yes' or a 'no' to whatever he would gesture at and when she finally spoke her first word in English, he simply laughed feeling rather embarrassed for not realizing sooner that there was a language barrier between them. Having been strictly schooled ever since he was little, Seifert was proficient in numerous languages with English being one. Why he would care this much for someone he's only met was beyond her, thinking him only a fool at first. Especially not knowing who she was and all, but somehow as time passed on she began to think otherwise as well. She enjoyed his company and he seemed to enjoy hers. That's all that really mattered. He never did question what happened on that day. How she had failed a mission and was stripped of her horns, brutally beaten, only to be disposed of by being thrown out to sea and drift away to perish. Funny how it all lead to him. She couldn't have been happier being by this man's side, truly tired of having to comply with her obliged duties. She remained in her reserved form as well as kept one last piece of human jewel close to her to survive, never to return to that dreadful place from then on. Not that they would have suspected her to survive at the time. Luck was on her side that the Elders had more pressing matters than worry about her whereabouts. They had enough jewels to last them until they found another core brain anyhow.

She quickly grew accustomed to the German lifestyle over the next few years and even supported Seifert prosper in his art collecting and trades. He dealt with all different types of art forms from vases to paintings to statues from various countries. But the one he was most drawn to, in particular, was the French Art Nouveau. Through its influence he even gave her a French name, Florella, since she refused to use her former name for various reasons. When they finally wedded, she began contributing by creating her own jewels to sell as well.

Florella Harvenheit. She made a pretty good name for herself in their aristocratic upper class society and even managed to birth two beautiful daughters, who both were specifically named after her: Florette and Satella. Seifert managed to bring out the best in her, and most of all, feelings that she would have never imagined a demon as herself could ever feel.

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Her wonderful new life as a human and now… it was all crumbling down before her.

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**Germany. 1914. Early September. **

Florella couldn't bear to look at him. The whole situation only made Aion laugh more. It was all too ridiculous to the sinner. Nothing good ever came with having a special something or someone. Thrown into an emotional turmoil and all for what? He's seen it before already. Demons and humans just weren't meant to live in the same world. "The cat is out. Your little game is over. Let's go. You've no other choice now." He spoke his mind apathetically as he raised a hand for her to take. Selfishly, she gave it a thought. How everything was now done for. Her dark past shattering all hope she had of living this ideal world forever. She would indeed have no other place to go besides with Aion and his crew. She was prepared to comply when Seifert ran in and wrapped his arms around her from behind. "Refuse, Florella! No matter what you say, I will never believe that you were playing me this whole time! Not after all we've been through together! I don't care whether you're a demon, an angel, or human! You'll always be the woman I fell in love with so don't go!" He desperately exclaimed to her, confessing his love all over again.

Left in pure shock, her fingers tingled and lips quivered to hear those words. Placing a hand onto his, she closed her eyes and leaned her head in towards him as a tear ran down her cheek. How foolish she was to even consider what the sinner had to say. She was done with her past doings and vowed to herself that she would no longer harm another to atone for what she had done. She had a loving family; A home right here. She slowly re-opened her eyes and Aion knew that something had changed. She seemed more confident unlike just a second ago. He had a bad feeling about this.

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave, Aion. I will no longer have anything to do with you or the society. This is where I belong with my family." She spoke with a small smile as her husband embraced her more in relief and protectively stared the demon down before them.

Clenching his teeth in fury, Aion heaved a low disappointed sigh as he quickly transformed into his demon form. "I would have preferred to avoid this, but it seems you left _me_ with no other choice now... If that's your answer then-" The two quickly stood to back away when the sinner began to lunge forward without hesitation. "Ahhh!" Florella shrieked in fear reflexively hiding her face behind her husband's back. Arm drawn back with blades at his fingertips, Aion aimed to grab her when Seifert knocks over one of the golden andirons of the fireplace to block his way and picks up an antique blade from the wall. As pieces of the wood flew his way, Aion violently slashed his claws through the andiron, chucking part of the metal into the fire. The flames roaring uncontrollably, part of the log rolled out onto the Tabriz carpet catching it on fire. "Tch." The sinner quickly blocked off their escape route and squarely faced the couple. "And here I thought you would put up some sort of fight, _Florella_. What ever happened to the powers I had heard of?" He mocked her with a gesture of this hand.

Florella quivered and tightly grasped her husband's shirt as she tried to compose herself. She knew she had to be the one to do something about this. There was no chance of Seifert winning against a demon like Aion, let alone a man who has never wielded a sword in his life or harmed another soul for that matter. But how brave her husband stood before him, determined to protect his wife and family. She had to gather her strength and revisit her past self one last time to put an end to this once and for all. They already had made plans to flee the country and besides with Aion present, she was certain _they_ were-! Her thought process immediately ceased as she noticed something missing from him. Taking a better look, her eyes widened to see that Aion was indeed missing a prominent feature of a demon - his horns. She studied the plates on his head and wondered just how he was capable of transforming. "How are you-" She began to question when he laughs to the irony. The look on her face was priceless. It was only something he and Chrno were capable of after all. He owed one to his genes. It came as no surprise that she would be this shocked. Only he knew of the _truth_.

"What does it matter?" Aion finally replied with a light shrug. "Think of it as a handicap. Be sure to entertain me now!" He dove in again swiftly dodging Seifert's clumsy swing of the old sword and grabbing it by the blade. A sharp smirk at his lips, he shattered it with one hand as the man backed away with the remaining part of the sword. Seifert heavily panted, giving a cough to the toxic smoke now filling the confined area from the fire that had begun to spread to half of the room. Taking the sharp piece into his hand, he threw it back at the husband piercing him right in the heart, causing him to buckle at his knees. Blood spurting from his mouth, Florella immediately went to catch his fall backward as she cries out his name. "Seifert! Noo! Please… you can't leave us.. you can't leave _me_…" His weary eyes glancing up at his distraught wife crying hysterically, he managed to raise a hand to caress her wet face as he forced his last words out. "R-un… Flo..rella… take… the girls... and run." With his last breath, he mouthed the words "I love you" before his lifeless limb slowly slipped away from her and fell to the ground with a loud thud.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!"

Anger brewing inside, Florella's whole body shook as she held her husband for one last time before managing to stand up. Her eyes glowing yellow as her black long hair flowed to her energy seeping out and undoing her bun, she slid a hand into her pocket to retrieve a piece of jewel. Holding it between her middle and index finger, she began to chant. "Laden…" As soon as those words left her lips, her aristocratic dress slowly changed form to that of a demon's; a lavender and white body suit that conformed to her shape perfectly and a single diamond opening left by her navel to show where the last contractor was embedded. Feeling the immense energy coming from her, Aion softly commented and prepared himself. "That's more like it." He let out a loud battle cry, gathering his own energy before charging in. His blade clashing with her sword that formed itself from the particles of the jewel within her grasp a second later, she held strong against his attack as they came face to face. "I'll _never_ forgive you, Aion! You will pay for this with your life!" She forced him away and fully swung the crystal blade at him. A shallow cut to his forearm, it quickly began to reform itself after drawing a little bit of blood. "It's about time." He encouraged with a snicker. He carefully observed the jewel summoner's powers and grew more excited to the thought. _This would surely be an asset_; he thought but how to bring it back with him was still the issue.

That was when opportunity knocked on his door. Hearing a loud gasp by the door, the two demons both simultaneously spotted the young girl dressed in her white frilled night gown. "Mo..ther?" Florette softly questioned with a terrified look in her eyes. Catching a glimpse of her fallen father on the ground, she covered her mouth as she grew weak in the knees; the gruesome scene almost making her purge. "Florette!" The mother exclaimed and tried to bypass Aion, but he gracefully cut off her path. A devious grin painting his face as he slyly glanced back at the girl in dismay, it finally hit him that there _was_ another person who was fully capable of performing the same task. As Florette managed to return his glance, she froze in place recalling having seen that face before. He was the nice gentleman who she had held a lovely conversation with earlier that day. A distant relative, he said and someone she was pleased to hear about and wished to know more of. She rarely heard of her mother's side of the family and had always meant to ask her one of these days; about her parents and relatives that she may or may not have. The smooth black wings grown out of his back and her mother's new appearance quickly made her draw one conclusion. It was no wonder she never spoke of them before. She slumped down onto the floor as she was conflicted with how to feel about this sudden revelation. Her father a human and her mother a demon. She too then had to be partially demon, she thought. A devil's child. Were they the ones who killed father? Florette sat there confused as she strongly embraced herself and dropped her head. What was she to think of all this?

Catching onto what Aion was thinking, Florella raged and screamed at him as she desperately tried to get to her daughter with another swing of her sword. "Don't you dare touch her! Ahhh!" Underestimating her speed, she clipped him in the neck before he quickly took her back, getting her in a choke hold. Her blade disappearing into thin air, she took a hold of his forearm with both hands to try and pry him off. "Ai…on!" Holding her close, the sinner tried to crush her windpipe and cut off her air. Florella gasped and violently struggled against him with no luck. He was far too strong for her. It had been a while since she had fought anyone and even then she was only meant to seduce and capture humans. She recalled hearing once in the past that Aion and Chrno were both gifted demons with a promising future. The elderly superiors especially cared for them dearly ever since they were little. Why someone like that would ever flee their homeland was beyond her.

Peering through her hair, Florette watched the demon torture her mother in fright. Even if she were a demon, she was still her mother, wasn't she? Lifting up her head, Florette reached out with an arm as she begged. "N…o… No…. please! Please stop! You're hurting her!" Gradually getting to her feet, the girl rushed to her mother's side as she screamed. "Mother!" She kicked and smacked him with all her might as the movement in her mother's struggle began to fade. "Ru..n….Fl…o…..r…..e …." Florella breathed through what air she had left in her lungs. A dark glance down at the girl, he knocked her to the ground with one hand as the other still kept a tight hold around the woman's neck. He deeply sighed with a shrug and gestured towards the little girl. "How about it then? Your mother's life for yours? All you have to do is simply come with me." Aion bargained.

Florette stared at him with astound eyes as she inquired further. "Go… where?" His lips slightly parting, he softly and deeply spoke his words with pride. "Beyond." The mother, taking the little interaction as an opportunity, elbowed him right below the sternum and freed herself from his clutches. "No…. Florette…. We must… run!" An angry growl conjured from deep within his throat, in an instant Aion went to pierce her when Florella quickly turned around to grab at his blade with both crystallized hands. She pushed off and in haste formulated her sword again to battle Aion and keep him at bay. Her loud grunts resonating throughout the crumbling mansion, she valiantly fought back to allow her daughter some time to run. "G-Go…Florette!" The more she used her energy the weaker her contracted jewel became, causing a crack to appear in it. Ah, how she would have loved to use her last remaining years of this life source to see her children grow older and hold a family of their own…

"This is it. Time to end this." Aion warned as he readied his final attack. Panting rapidly as she narrowed her weary eyes, the last swing of her sword heavily collided with his as it dissipated and she fell right into his arms. Reflexively catching her, Aion took note of her precious jewel that dropped from her hand and whispered beside her ear. "Last chance… make the jewels and I'll let all this pass." Florella cracked a sly smile in her exhausted, weakened state and sternly answered even so. "_Go to hell_…" Without a single change of his stone cold expression, Aion finished her off with one stab to her abdomen, shattering the last contractor she had implanted in her skin as well as pierce right through her. As she changed back to her reserved form and her life source returning to the astral line in emerald spiraled waves, he searched her red-stained dress for the other jewels before dropping her lifeless body to the floor beside her husband's, giving a light sigh in disappointment. _Fool_. Such a waste of talent.

"NOOO!" Florette screamed and covered her face with her hands. Beginning to crawl towards her mother, Aion quickly grabbed her by the wrist and forcefully lifted her up in the air. "Noooo! Let me go! Let me gooo, you monster! Ahhh!" She hysterically flailed and wailed as tears ran down her cheeks. "How could you! How could you kill her!" She slammed her fist into his chest as he gravely stared at her; his own heart feeling no remorse for what he had done. There was nothing to it. It was a battle to meet their separate goals. It just meant his ambitions were far greater than hers, he easily reasoned. Aion gave one hard strike to her stomach as she spat blood and grew unconscious. Lowering her body as she contorted with her head hanging down, the sinner began to look about the emblazed room. Spotting the final jewel that had rolled away, he eventually located it and stared down at the precious collection; the jewels of various colors of green, red and blue. It was then when his crimson eyes caught sight of an even younger girl staring at him from the door. Red hair, red-eyed beauty like her father, she was dressed up in her Empire dress with a high neck and long poof out sleeves as if she were ready to go out somewhere unlike her older sister.

Satella having heard all the commotion down the hall, slipped away from the butlers and maids as they too were getting ready to make their escape. No matter how many times she would ask where her sister was or where her parents had gone, they all brushed her off as they continuously told her not to be worried and to get dressed to leave. Even to the nine year old Satella, she understood well enough that something wasn't right. She quickly made her way towards the fire to see what was going on when she heard the last loud shriek of terror. Coughing to the black smoke entering her lungs, she finally made it to the living room and saw the horror scene before her. Speechless to her finding, it wasn't long before she saw her parents and rushed off to their side, calling for them in a shaky tone. Supporting her mother's head in her small frail arms, she profusely wept and began to call out for her sister as well. "Siiiister! Sister Florette!" Seeing no threat, Aion simply went about his business of cradling Florette's motionless body into his arms and securing the jewels in his hand.

Florette's tearful eyes absentmindedly stared towards Satella's direction. Slowly, she mouthed her little sister's name as the demon soon took off with her, disappearing into the night and leaving the little girl alone in the fire. A small devious smirk appeared as Aion walked towards his comrades, silently claiming the remaining member of the family as his final back up to his plan if anything.

* * *

**San Francisco, California. 1924. **

"Master Aion?" Fiore pulling the sinner out of his daze, Aion glanced up towards his maid with a long face. "Hm? What is it, Fi?" He softly asked while sitting up and finally placing the mug down onto the desk. "I know it's not my place to question, Master, but are you certain you're feeling all right?" The doll managed a worried look. He solemnly stared at her square in the face as he noticed it. Her emotions were surfacing more than he had suspected. He slowly raised his hand to caress her cheek as a small grin grew at his lips. "Yeah, everything is fine. Go check on Joshua." She immediately complied with a small curtsy and a slight bow of her head, walking off to do just as she was told. The pale long-haired demon slipped his glasses on and turned the chair to watch her leave with the same grin still on his face.

Indeed. He truly did pick up something _very_ useful that night. It was only a matter of time before the red-head would soon find the answer she had longed to hear for ten grueling years; her dear sister serving and fighting for the sake of the same hornless demon, who was responsible for it all.


End file.
